Link: The toll bridge is believed to have been built in 1879 to replace the ferry and now provides a well-used short-cut for motorists and pedestrians over the river

The Grade II listed wooden toll bridge,
run by a mother and son, which spans the Mawddach river, was built in 1879 by the Pernmaenpool Bridge Company to
replace a ferry across the river. The cottage was added about a
century ago.

The structure recently featured in the BBC Four series Discovering Snowdonia with Julia Bradbury. Motorists pay 60p to cross, pedestrians 20p, but children go free. Ferry rights at £20 a year are included in the sale - with 867 years remaining on the lease.

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In 1966 the bridge was the scene of one of the country's worst ever pleasure boat disasters, when a day trip from Barmouth ended in tragedy when it clipped a stanchion on the bridge and overturned, with the loss of 15 lives.

Believed to date from 1919, the two-bedroom keeper's cottage has been
extensively improved over the years and boasts a modern shower room with a wood burner in the lounge.

The bridge is
currently operated on a day to day basis by a small group of toll
keepers. In addition to the cottage, there is a toll booth, office and
store, together with the section of road from the northern end of the
bridge.

Nature: The keeper's cottage boasts modern amenities despite its remote location. The building borders scenic hills and forests

Attractive: The cottage's next owner will not be short of home comforts. The building boasts an attractive interior with a modern shower room and cozy lounge with a wood burner

Eryl Jones-Williams, a Gwynedd councillor, said he was writing to the chief executive of the Snowdonia National Park Authority to suggest that they should buy the bridge and cottage.

He said: 'They own the footpath and cycle track along the former railway which runs alongside the bridge - the Mawddach Trail - which is highly popular. There is a public footpath on the other side and there are plans to create an osprey nesting site.

'It would be an ideal purchase for the authority.' A spokeswoman for the estate agents Strutt and Parker said at their Chester office : 'It's an unusual sale.'